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In recent months, we’ve seen Nintendo slowly get comfortable with the idea of publishing games and apps to mobile devices. We’ve seen Miitomo earlier this year, and their partnership with Niantic and The Pokémon Company to bring out the super popular Pokémon GO. Now, it’s time for one of their main stays to have a crack at the mobile limelight.

Yesterday during Apple’s iOS conference, we received a surprise visit from famed Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto where he unveiled a new game, Super Mario Run for iOS. The game is runner, similar to that of the recent Rayman mobile games, where you swipe and tap to run, jump, and ground pound through various levels. The game will have various modes, including one that will race the time of other players and collect coins in doing so. While the game possibly might have IAPs, the game will be a paid app (at a yet undetermined price) that will not require additional money to complete and enjoy. The game is set to release on iOS first this December, with release for Android early next year.

On top of this, there was also the announcement of Pokémon GO soon to be playable on Apple Watch. While the details were very slim, it should be a full port of the popular game tailor made for the Apple Watch experience, so you won’t have to keep your phone in your hands at all times.

Excited to see more Nintendo representation on your mobile devices? Let us know what you think!

Nintendo has been gaining major flak lately for their lack of communication about upcoming releases. While they’re not yet ready to pull back the curtain on the NX, they granted us a new Nintendo Direct focusing solely on 3DS titles. Here’s a detailed list of the things they showed during the presentation:Continue reading →

Hot off the presses from the Pokémon Direct earlier in the week, Nintendo just released a whole new, very meaty, direct dedicated to Wii U and 3DS games planned to release this year. But did it deliver?Continue reading →

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 20 years already. While my journey with Pokémon hasn’t admittedly been the most eventful one, it has most definitely been with me, for better or worse, for almost as long as I can remember.

In the late 90s, I was slowly getting myself into gaming, playing around sparsely with a Sega Genesis gifted to us by my parents. But living with a sibling, it’s hard to get gaming time to myself. As I soon discovered that portable gaming was even a thing, the word of Pokémon started to spread. I don’t quite remember how I was first exposed to the series, but I knew I desperately wanted the games. Around the start of my 6th grade year, my mom was very nice enough to treat me to a Teal Game Boy Color and Pokémon Blue. It was my first time experiencing turn based JRPGs, so I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning. Thankfully, the series as a whole has been beginner friendly, so I managed to learn the ins and outs quickly, and played for hours on end.

While I wholeheartedly enjoyed Gold in the next generation, and Sapphire after that, it was personally tiring for myself. I was unfortunately the victim of multiple thefts of my games (middle schoolers can be dangerous creatures), which at the time led to my waning interest in the series. But when Diamond dropped on the DS, my love for the series was reinvigorated. The new region, the spectacular music, and wireless/online connectivity all made me fall in love with the series all over again. I continued to enjoy the series with HeartGold’s feature rich content, Black’s deeper story & lore (made you actually question whether playing Pokémon was even ethical), and Y & Alpha Sapphire’s 3D environments. Thanks to the series, I’ve built up various friendships and rivalries, and even got closer to my girlfriend through Pokémon (she already claimed Moon from the upcoming versions).

The amount of Pokémon I play these days vary now, what with juggling multiple games, school, a part time job, and even a publication company (the one you’re reading from right now), but with Pokémon being in my life since I got my hands on the games in ‘98, I have no plans of dropping the series any time soon.

Well, we were bound to see it sometime. After countless weeks of constant leaks all across the internet, Activision has finally, properly, announced Platinum Games’ newest game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan.

This game will feature the four rad brothers as they journey through the streets of New York City to take on Shredder and the Foot Clan from taking over the city, battling classic foes like Bebop, Rocksteady, and Armaggon along the way. Tom Waltz, writer of the current ongoing TMNT comics, will be writing an original story for the game. While engaging Platinum’s classic fast action style of gameplay, Mutants in Manhattan will also feature a 4-player online co-op mode, although details of the mode were not given out at the moment of this writing.

Update: trailer is now available for viewing. Check it out below

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan will be released for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC this Summer, presumably alongside the upcoming second movie.

Alex D is a contributing Editor for Teh Lunchbox Publications. Follow him on twitter @tehlunchboxpub

This week, Nintendo put together what they call an “RPG Showcase” to touch on upcoming RPGs set to be released for the 3DS this year.

To start off, Nintendo announced that they will be releasing a Fire Emblem Fates themed New 3DS XL system. The system will feature a two toned black and white color scheme, with artwork based on the game on the front of the system. Unfortunately, the system will not be sold with either version of Fire Emblem Fates. It will, however, be released on February 19th, the same day as the game itself.

Next up, Nintendo announced that the upcoming Square Enix RPG, Bravely Second: End Layer, will be released on April 15. With that, they plan to release a Collector’s Edition of the game. Inside the box contains the game itself, a 10-song soundtrack sampler featuring music by composer Ryo from Supercell, and a 250-page art book, all for $69.99. If you’re still unsure about picking up the game, Nintendo will release a free demo soon, entitled Bravely Second: The Ballad of the Three Cavaliers. The demo will feature an original story not found in the main game, but will give you the option to transfer content to it.

Lastly, Nintendo touched on a few release dates from a few smaller titles, with Final Fantasy Explorers releasing on January 26th, Project X Zone 2 on February 16th, and the original Pokémon games on the Virtual Console on February 27th. Although vague, we finally got revelation that Dragon Quest VII will release this summer, with Dragon Quest VIII releasing later in the year.

This year is looking quite good for fans of RPGs on the 3DS. Which game are you most looking forward to?

Source: PR email

Alex D is a contributing Editor for Teh Lunchbox Publications. Follow him on twitter @tehlunchboxpub

Platinum Games announced in a blog post this morning that their upcoming game, Scalebound, has been pushed back to 2017. While specifics were not given, Platinum claims that this was done “in order to deliver on our ambitious visions and ensure that Scalebound lives up to expectations.” There was no word on Platinum’s other current projects, Star Fox Zero on the Wii U and Nier: Automata on the PS4, but they’re both still assumed to release within 2016.

Look for Scalebound to release exclusively on the Xbox One sometime in 2017.

Ever since E3 2013, game director Masahiro Sakurai has been constantly giving the public various trailers for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS & Wii U, revealing new characters and stages along the way. Now, a year after the game has been released Sakurai has released one final presentation demonstrating the new content soon to be released.

To start, it was announced that Corrin, the protagonist of the upcoming 3DS game Fire Emblem Fates, will be a brand new playable character. This makes Corrin the sixth playable character from the Fire Emblem series. The character does have a swappable gender, like Robin from Fire Emblem Awakening and Wii Fit Trainer, so you can choose to play as a boy or girl. Outside of standard sword slashes, Corrin’s main draw is various temporary dragon transformations. Corrin’s Final Smash, Torrential Roar, sucks in anyone nearby and blasts them away with a giant whirlpool of water. Corrin won’t come with a new stage, but two new music tracks from Fire Emblem Fates will be added to the existing Fire Emblem stages. Corrin will be available for download in February 2016.

As announced in a previous direct, Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, will be added to the roster as well. Cloud was revealed to be the most requested character from the Final Fantasy series. He will appear in both his FFVII outfit, as well as his look from FFVII: Advent Children. Cloud’s attacks feature wide, fast slashes from his Buster Sword, and a Limit Break that works similar to Little Mac’s KO meter. Unlike Little Mac, however, Cloud can charge his Limit Break meter through his Down Special. Bringing the Limit Break meter to full charge will allow one Limit Break attack, stronger than his normal attacks. His Final Smash is Omnislash, which works very similarly to Ike, which will bring an opponent to the air and thrusted back down after a volley of attacks.

Cloud will come along with a new stage based on Midgar. In the stage, Materia will appear randomly. If a player collects enough Materia, they’ll be able to bring forth a Summon, which will cause various destructive hazards to appear. Ifrit, Ramuh, Odin, Leviathan, and Bahamut Zero are all confirmed to appear. The Midgar stage and all its functionality is confirmed to appear in the 3DS version of the game. Unlike Corrin, Cloud and Midgar will be available immediately.

Sakurai then showed off a wealth of new Mii Fighter costumes, as this will be the last wave in the Mii Fighter releases. This time around, we have Geno from Super Mario RPG, Chocobo hats from the Final Fantasy series, Bionic Armor for the Brawlers, Takamaru from The Mysterious Murasame Castle, Ashley from WarioWare, Inc., Gil from The Tower of Druaga, and Tails & Knuckles from the Sonic The Hedgehog series.

In one final announcement, Sakurai revealed one final character, and the winner of the previously held Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot: Bayonetta. Unlike most of the roster, Bayonetta is a combo fighter as she is in her respective game. She can fire her guns in the middle of combos, grant herself midair combos with Witch Twist and AfterBurner Kick, and summon Madama Butterfly through her Smash attacks. When countering opponents, Bayonetta can use Witch Time to slow them down and get the upper hand. Her Final Smash, Infernal Climax, puts everyone under Witch Time, allowing you time to strike your opponents enough times to summon Gamorrah to chomp at anyone who opposes her. Like Cloud, Bayonetta comes with a stage: the Umbra Clock Tower, a platform of a falling broken clock tower seen in the first stage of the original Bayonetta. Bayonetta and the Umbra Clock Tower stage will be available for download alongside Corrin in February 2016.

To close out, it was announced that amiibos of Roy, Ryu, and Famicom R.O.B. will be released on March 18, 2016, with Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta amiibos currently in development.

While development of overall productivity of the game is winding down, it was revealed that all DLC was created after development of the main game was finished, a rarity in this current gaming climate. With a game that is already so feature rich on its own, the announcement of today’s DLC, as well as all previously released stages and characters, made for a fitting send off to a well-produced game. We thank and salute you, Sakurai.

Now let’s start campaigning for Shantae to appear in the next Smash…

Matthew G. is the head of Teh Lunchbox Publication’s Twitter and Contributing Writer. For more up to date information, news, previews, and reviews, keep it here on tehlunchboxpub.wordpress.com and LIKE and FOLLOW us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitch!

Want to drive around in a lowrider? Want to make the car bounce up and down? Ready to go gangbangin’ like it’s ’91? Then shine up your gold rims and hit the streets of Los Santos in the newest update to Grand Theft Auto V’s online mode.

Rockstar is getting ready to release an all new expansion, GTA Online: Lowriders for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. This new free pack mainly features over half a dozen new vehicles to drive around in. With those, as well as a wealth of already existing cars, you can take them down to the brand new Benny’s Original Motor Works, located in downtown Strawberry. There, you can fully trick out your new rides with slick paint jobs, fur interior, supreme sound system, hydraulics, and many more options.

But that’s not all of course. Slink Johnson (Black Jesus, Meet My Valentine) is back as Los Santos’ star CGF member Lamar Davis. He’s pumped and ready to give your character a bunch of new chaotic missions, and won’t take no for an answer. You won’t go empty-handed though, as you’ll have access to the Machete and Machine Pistol over at Ammu-Nation, along with plenty of new clothes and accessory. Still got money to burn? Spend it on a much-requested fourth property, and earn it back through the three new Adversary Modes.

GTA Online: Lowriders will be available for free on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 20th.

Alex D is a contributing Editor for Teh Lunchbox Publications. Follow him on twitter @tehlunchboxpub

Rockstar Games has been steadily adding update after update to Grand Theft Auto Online, and now they’re giving you more to do.

Rockstar is introducing Freeroam Events to GTA Online. Without the need of loading, menus, or lobbies, events will start up randomly while freeroaming in GTAO’s overworld. Events have immense variety. They can be simple, such as who can perform the longest jump. Or they can be very elaborate like Hunt The Beast, where a random player becomes super strong, only for the other players to be tasked in taking him down without the use of the radar.

With this update, Rockstar will also be bringing in two new Adversary Modes. Hunting Pack pays homage to the classic action movie Speed, where your team must deliver a high priority vehicle without dropping to a minimal speed limit, while other players attempt to take you down in the process. Then there’s Cross The Line, where heavily-armed teams fight on a neutral ground, while your entire team must make it alive to your opponents’ area intact.

With this update, Rockstar is finally bringing the Rockstar Video Editor to PS4 and Xbox One, with new additions like ambient sound, Snapmatic integration, and more. Keep in mind that these new updates will be passed along to the PC version as well.

Freeroam Events will be available for free for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 15th.